Amazing Woman Works 44 Years Without Taking a Single Sick Day

If you're one of the unfortunate people who caught the stomach bugthat's going around (hi), or the flu, or the nasty colds that seem to be sweeping the nation, you've probably already used a sick day this year. And that's a bummer. Because we want to use sick days for when it's nice out and we can go to the beach. Because no one likes being sick. And if you haven't yet called in sick this year, you probably did at some point last year. And if you didn't last year, you probably did the year before. And -- well, let me just cut to the chase here: A woman who just retired from her job as a postal worker didn't use a single sick day -- in 44 years.

Deborah Ford, 64, retired recently from being the time and attendance control technician at a Detroit post office. For years, Ford was in charge of logging time cards and attendance records -- yet, ironically, she never used a sick day of her own. At her send-off luncheon, Ford was presented with a retirement proclamation that enabled her to retire with a sick-leave balance of 4,508 hours.

So, what's Ford's secret?

Well, according to her, there isn't one. "I have no secrets," she said. "But a positive attitude helps." We had a little chat about this in the office, and some people seem to think that Ford's real secret to perfect attendance is not having kids. I don't totally disagree with this sentiment, as sometimes you have to take a sick day when your kid is sick. But this is impressive nonetheless.

Apparently she takes a vacation day if she has a doctor's appointment, and she says that when she's feeling lousy, she just "shakes it off."

Shake it off. I like that. Mind over matter. But every once in a while, isn't it nice to just huddle under the covers with some chicken soup and a West Wing marathon?